Midland International F.C.
(as Molyneux International F.C.) | ground = Midland Stadium | capacity = 15,000 | owner = Sullivan Investments, Inc. | chairman = Daniel Sullivan | manager = Gary Tarrant | currentleague = League B | lastseason = | lastleagueb = League B | lastposition = 10th | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} Midland International Football Club is a professional football club based in Fort Molyneux, St. Gregory. The team plays in League B, the second tier of the St. Gregory Football Association. Founded in 1986, Midland were admitted to the professional ranks two years later and enjoyed their best period in the late 2000s, when they finished runners-up in League A two years in a row. The club have never won a top flight league title, but won their maiden SGFA Cup in 2009-10. History In 1986, second-generation Gregorian brothers James and Daniel Sullivan established Molyneux International F.C. as a competing club to local amateur champions, Fort Molyneux Chargers (now defunct). Molyneux International chose blue and black, similar to Inter Milan, as their colors. Following Coventry City's win in the 1987 FA Cup Final, the Sullivan brothers – both Coventry fans – renamed their club Midland International F.C., after the West Midlands region where both they and their English club were from. They also changed the club colors to sky blue, white and dark blue, the same colors as Coventry City. In January 1988, with Midland International leading the local amateur league (including having beaten Chargers twice), the Sullivans submitted a bid to the St. Gregory Football Association to be admitted as a professional club. The bid was accepted and Midland joined the SGFA in 1988, entering League B for the 1988-89 season. They finished as League B runners-up in 1992-93, earning promotion to League A for the first time. Midland finished the 1997-98 League A season in seventh place, but in the 1997-98 SGFA Cup they upset eventual league champions Bonneville United en route to a berth in the 1998 SGFA Cup Final against Forest United. Midland were considered only slight underdogs as Forest had finished just two places ahead of them on the League A table. However, Forest would go on to defeat Midland 3-1 in the Final. The following season would be Midland's most successful. They finished as runners-up in League A behind FC Chapman while Forest, the team who had denied them a Cup title the previous season, slipped to 7th. Midland were unable to return to the Cup Final, however, being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Bonneville United. Finishing second in the league earned Midland a spot in the 1999 SGFA Shield as FC Chapman went on to win the league and cup double. Chapman defeated Midland 1-0 in the Shield match, keeping the Stallions without a trophy once more. Midland reached the 2010 SGFA Cup Final, their second appearance in the final and first in 12 years. After a weather delay that forced the match to be postponed by 24 hours, Midland finally defeated Starrs County 2-0 to claim the first trophy in club history. They qualified for the 2010 SGFA Shield in the process, but for the second time were defeated in the Shield by FC Chapman. The club finished the 2014-15 League A season in 14th place, meaning they would have to face off against the winner of the League B play-offs to retain their league position. They were defeated 4-3 in a penalty shootout by Port St. Christopher Pirates after the match had finished 1-1, resulting in Midland being relegated from any league for the first time in their history. Stadium The team plays its home games at Midland Stadium (previously QuickCash Stadium), where they have played since it opened in 1997. Prior to that, the team played at the much smaller Balk Park, which is still used by the Midland Reserves and Academy teams. Colors, crest and nickname Kits Midland's uniforms are currently supplied by Puma, who replaced adidas after that company's contract expired in 2014. The shirt sponsor was most recently QuickCash, who also held naming rights to the team's home ground from 2014 to 2019. As part of their 30th anniversary celebrations, the club unveiled a new third blue and black kit in 2016, meant to resemble their original Inter Milan-themed kits when they were known as Molyneux International. As well as featuring as a clash kit in some away games, the anniversary kits will also be worn in select home matches during 2016-17. Support Rivalries :See also: Rouge River derby Midland have two close geographical rivals in Forest United and Rivergate, with all three clubs joining the SGFA in a three-year period (Forest in 1987, Midland in 1988, Rivergate in 1990) and coming up through the leagues at roughly the same time. Midland and Forest contested the 1998 SGFA Cup Final, which Forest won by a score of 3-1. Players Current squad : As of August 20, 2019 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Out on loan Reserves and Academy :Further information: Midland International F.C. Reserves and Academy Former players :Further information: Category:Midland International F.C. players Managerial history :Further information: Category:Midland International F.C. managers Honors * SGFA Cup: 1 :* Winners (1): 2009-10 Midland Ladies :Main article: Midland International L.F.C. Midland International Ladies F.C., known as Midland Ladies for short, are the women's professional football club affiliated to Midland International. Founded in 2016 after the formation of Women's League A, the team began play in the league's inaugural season in 2016-17. Home matches are played at Balk Park. Category:Club pages Category:Midland International F.C.